In the entertainment and show industries, the emergence of immersive and augmented reality technologies brings about an increased usage of mobile and high-speed data communications, to link in real-time user and the immersive or enhanced environment. For example, a rail-guided trolley travelling along a rail provides an interactive entertaining experience to its passengers. The rail-guided trolley is connected in real-time to a control computer, which generates and transmits dedicated content (e.g. images, sounds, control commands, etc.) for providing a digital and interactive environment to each passenger of the rail guided trolley. In order to allow this real-time connectivity between the control computer and the rail-guided trolley, information need to be communicated at high speed and in a safely manner between these two entities.
Technologies based on non-confined microwave signals are not adapted to this context, since they are prone to interferences and degradations of the quality of the microwave signals (due to the amount and variety of interfering microwave signals generally present in any particular location). Technologies such as a leaky coax (e.g. a Wi-Fi based leaky coax) or confined microwave signals (using waveguides) have also been used in this context for transmitting the information in real-time, but they are generally too slow.
Technologies based on leaky optical fibers have also been used in this context for transmitting the information in real-time. The optical fibers provide an environment less prone to external interferences, and further provide high-speed information transfer. However, so far, leaky optical fibers have been used for transmitting information from a control platform to a mobile apparatus. For example, US patent application US 2007/0274727 A1 published on Nov. 29, 2007 discloses a communications system implementing high-speed, high quality communications using a leaky optical fiber. However, the leaky optical fiber is only used for transmitting data from an original transmitter to a mobile receiver. In a particular embodiment of the communications system, the mobile receiver comprises a leaky optical fiber for emitting optical signals transporting data to be transmitted all the way back to the original transmitter. However, the emitted optical signals are received by fixed receivers positioned along the path of the mobile receiver, and forwarded by fixed relays (collocated with the fixed receivers) to the original transmitter via a fixed network. Thus, for the transmission of data all the way back from the mobile receiver to the original transmitter, the leaky optical fiber is used only for emitting optical signals.
There is therefore a need for a new system and method allowing a bidirectional exchange of data with a mobile apparatus through at least one leaky optical fiber.